Israel and Palestine
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PSC342finalexamIsraeliPalestinianConflictSpring20191.docxPSC/MES/REL/JSP 342 | Spring 2019
Politics and Religion in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Final Exam Essay—due on Tuesday May 7
(25% of final grade)
Answer 1 essay question (see back page) based on the course material from Weeks 8 through 15.
● The essay should be roughly 10 pages long in text; 12 point font; double spaced; reasonable margins.
● The essay should draw on the materials presented thus far in the course (including the required readings; class notes; PowerPoints; handouts; films/videos etc.). You may refer to other material/s from outside of the course & syllabus, but this should be kept to a minimum.
● Appropriate citation and footnoting is expected for this assignment (see below).
● At the top of the exam, or on a cover page, specify the question that you answering.
Submission Instructions:
Turn in the essay by 4:00pm to the Department of Political Science in 100 Eggers Hall. There will be a folder with my name on it at the front desk. Please place your paper inside the folder. (In order to avoid having your paper misplaced, please do not stick it under my office door!).
I prefer not to receive papers via email, unless there is an emergency situation that prevents you from being on campus on the due date.
Be sure to have late papers stamped and signed by an office staff person.
Late papers will be marked down.
Writing Tips:
● You may use any citation style (in-text citation; bottom-of-page footnotes; or endnotes) as long as you use it consistently throughout the paper. Note: If you use ‘in-text’ citation, a Bibliography-References/Works Cited page is required.
● Lengthy summaries of the readings should be avoided.
● Do include your own opinion, but also incorporate the diverse viewpoints & claims presented in the course materials.
● The best essays will draw on materials from across multiple weeks of the course thus far. Be sure to consider a variety of relevant materials to ‘build’ your answer to the question.
NOTE: STUDENTS WHO HAVE RECEIVED A “C” OR LESS ON PRIOR ASSIGNMENTS, OR THOSE WHO HAVE MISSED MULTIPLE QUIZZES OR THE MIDTERM EXAM, MAY CHOOSE TO ANSWER TWO QUESTIONS. A BETTER GRADE FOR THE SECOND ESSAY WILL OFFSET EARLIER LOWER GRADES; THE GRADE FOR THE SECOND ESSAY WILL BE CONSIDERED IN LIEU OF MISSING WORK.
1. “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a conflict rooted in religious difference and is not a holy or religious war. Rather, it is fundamentally a struggle between two competing nationalisms.” Discuss this quotation. Do you agree that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be viewed as a conflict between two peoples over contested land and territory? To what extent do religion and religiously-motivated actors need to be incorporated into an explanation of the conflict? [Note: if you answered this question for the midterm, feel free to note if your views have changed or remained the same].
2. “While there are many obstacles to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ongoing incitement and lawlessness at the societal level, and even incitement by political officials is the main problem.” Discuss this quotation. Do you agree that incitement is the key factor stymying a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? If yes, why are other issues not as salient? If not, what other factor/s need to be considered?
3. “The Oslo peace process from 1993-2000 failed primarily because Palestinian and Israeli policymakers failed to turn key spoilers into stakeholders for peace.” Discuss this quotation. Do you agree that Israeli and Palestinian leaders should have done a better job at achieving societal ‘buy in’ for peace? What could they have done differently?
